


Recommended for You

by ienablu



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Post-Movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-30
Updated: 2014-06-30
Packaged: 2018-02-06 20:34:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1871517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ienablu/pseuds/ienablu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Logan has more questions than can be answered before Charles has a class he needs to teach, and so Logan turns to searching the internet for answers. Which is how he finds himself, half an hour later, watching a video called "Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr Do Impressions of Each Other."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Recommended for You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pocky_slash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pocky_slash/gifts).



> This is the closet thing to crack I've ever written, and it is entirely due to pocky_slash because her [prompt tag](http://fourteenacross.tumblr.com/tagged/prompt) on tumblr is a treasure. As is the sheer majesty of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen's friendship. Although I tweaked elements of the videos to fit the characters involved, the videos referenced here do exist.

They get halfway through the eighties – Charles discussing how mutants aided the emergency response during the Algarrobo earthquake, and how the attitude towards mutants shifted far more favorably towards mutants, especially after estimates on what the death count would have otherwise been came in – when the door clicks open behind them.

Charles had asked Logan to place a sign asking for privacy on the outside doorknob, and had Logan lock the door before they had settled into the history lesson, and Logan is on his feet and in a defensive position by the time the door sweeps open, and Magneto strolls into Charles' office.

Magneto, who is wearing a pair of jeans and a cable knit sweater instead of a cape and his helmet. He's also wearing a pair of sneakers, and that alone enough to give him pause. 

"Ah, good morning, Erik," Charles greets, amiably, even though it’s nearly noon by now.

"Good morning, Charles," Magneto replies. He turns towards Logan. "I take it you are back with us, then?"

"No help to you," Logan says, and he extends his claws out. They're adamantium plated. Logan knew they would be, deep down he had known, but the sight of them raises a spike of panic in him.

"I assure you, Logan," Charles says, "Stryker did not lay a hand on you this time around."

"We made sure of it," Magneto adds. The hard expression that passes over Charles' face makes Logan feel completely justified in the way he looks at Magneto. Magneto raises an eyebrow in response, but doesn't seem ruffled in the slightest. He just turns to Charles, saying, "I would have thought you would have been far past that by now, given that your class starts in less than half an hour. Hadn't you said you planned on giving Logan a brief overview?"

"That had been the plan," Charles agrees. He smiles indulgently. "I suppose I got a bit caught up in recounting the mutant issues that were at play during the eighty-four election."

"I can't imagine why," Magneto says, loftily.

Back in the future – in Logan's original future – there had been an ease to Charles and Magneto's interactions. Moments of shared humor, fleeting as they were. Logan had half convinced himself it was just the time spent against a common enemy, but the trip to the past confirmed that the two had a history together.

Logan hadn't know what that history was the first time around, and he still doesn't know the history this time around. Charles had mentioned conflicts between the X-Men and the Brotherhood, always detached and clinical. He never mentioned Magneto by name. But Magneto is here, now, and Logan guesses it's for the best – Charles had speculated to Logan on more than one occasion on how he believed the school and their cause would have benefited from them working as collaborators, rather than rivals.

It doesn't make the sight of Magneto in sneakers any less strange. "I take it you're a professor here, then?" Logan asks, not bothering to hide his skepticism.

"Literature," Magneto replies.

"Don't you have a class you should be teaching?" 

"I prefer to keep my classes until after lunch," Magneto replies. "I always thought the English language was best understood on a full stomach, and kids these days never eat a good enough breakfast."

"Although Erik has tried to teach them the error of their ways," Charles says, fondly. Quietly, in Logan’s mind, he adds, ‘ _And he is Erik now._ ’

Logan turns to look at him, and gives him a disbelieving, "Uh-huh."

"You were right though, I do have class, and some preparations I need to review. Thank you for the reminder, Erik."

"Anytime, Charles," Erik replies, keeping his gaze on Logan as Charles moves between them. "And I hope you will forgive me, Logan," Erik says, and there's an odd weight to his voice, even as he blithely continues, "but I have my own lesson plans to finalize before my own class. I would love to join Charles in giving you your history lesson, should you desire, or should you feel like you need someone to keep him on topic."

"Yeah, thanks for the offer, but I'm good."

"My class lasts for an hour, though sometimes the conversations and debates keep it going far past that. I have informed your students that your class will be cancelled for the day, so you are free to do as you see fit until I return from class. You may stay in my office, should you chose, or you may explore the grounds. I'll call for you when my class is over."

It's an obvious, if polite, dismissal.

Logan nods. He's had a lot of facts thrown at him, it might do him good to take a break from the history lesson. He needs time to sort through everything. Including the sight of Charles and Magneto leaving the office together, Magneto saying something quiet that makes Charles huff a laugh.

He waits until he's sure they won't be in the hallway, and he slips out of Charles' office. Taking a break from the first mini-lesson lasts as long as it takes for him to find a bank of computers, and decide to try and catch up on his own.

 

* * *

 

The videos start out innocently enough.

YouTube is still around, though no longer owned by Google. Charles had mentioned addressing the United Nations a few years after the confrontation with Trask Industries, and it's as good of a place to start as any, so Logan types in “charles xavier 1976 address.” It gets a few thousand results, the top result being "Dr. Charles Xavier -- UN Address (1976)," with has nearly six million views.

The video is sixteen minutes long, and it's Charles at his best. He's well spoken, an easy humor to his speech, and he's entirely in his element as he lectures on genetic mutation and what it does and does not mean. He appeals to the UN to better handle mutant issues, but despite his pleas, there's still a commanding presence to him. He's everything he hadn't been when Logan had visited, and while Logan has seen this future, seen that it turns out all right for them all, he's relieved to see things turn out all right for Charles sooner rather than later.

To the side, the first recommended video is "Dr Xavier discusses 1976 address on Johnny Caron's show." It's set in 1986, right on the cusp of where Charles had left off. Although he had dressed up in a suit for his UN appearance, he's back to wearing a cardigan. His hair is even shorter than it had been for the UN, though it's easy to see that his hair is thinning, his hairline receding. Still, Charles knows how to charm crowds, and the majority of the viewer comments are quotes of Charles' quips.

The next recommended video is "JOHNNY CARSON FULL EPISODE: Charles Xavier, Ellen Degeneres, Jon Cryer, 1986," however Logan's eye catches on the bottom video.

"Charles Xavier ... with hair?!?" 

Logan has seen Charles with hair – quite recently, or at least in regards to his own timeline – and the novelty is lost on him. The fact that the link has already been visited on this computer, and that the video itself has over six thousand views, is what makes Logan click on it.

It’s a clip from a movie – _Field of Crows_ , according to the description, the first mutant-written mutant-directed mutant-starred movie. Filmed in the late summer months of ‘74, though it couldn’t find a distributor for another year and a half. Charles had taken part as an extra, and had spoken of it fondly. The clip is only forty seconds long, set in a coffee shop, the camera focused on the patrons in the background.

Charles is sitting at one of the closer tables, still recognizable in the dim lighting. His hair is the shag style that Logan had seen during his visit, with a matching hideous printed shirt. His expression is pensive for the first twenty seconds, before he smiles, and his expression turns fond. His mouth moves as he speaks, but the audio doesn't catch it.

Logan looks to see who Charles' conversation mate is.

It's Magneto.

Only his profile is visible, but Logan knows it's him. He's dressed similarly to when they had been on the plane, his sleeves rolled up to his elbow.

For the first time, Logan notices that on the table, Charles' hand is on top of Magneto's. Magneto turns his hand so his palm is facing up.

No, not Magneto. _Erik._

The clip ends.

In the search bar, Logan types, "charles xavier erik lensherr."

It corrects his spelling, and gives him 'around 38,200' hits.

The first hit is from one year ago. “Web exclusive: Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr on Xavier Academy school policy & hooky policy.”

Charles is talking passionately about the foundation of the school. Erik is beside him, a surly expression on his face. Up until the point where Charles calls himself _Charles Lehnsherr_ , and a smile flickers on his face. Logan pauses the video. He likes to think that Charles would have told him if they had gotten married, but regardless of the dignified image Charles has cultivated, the man has a mischievous streak.

A Google search shows that they are not actually married, although the issue is heavily speculated, and the most popular links have all already been visited.

He keeps the current interview playing in one window, while he looks at the videos on the result page. They all have high view counts, and Logan stops halfway down the search, halfway through the interview.

"Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr Do Impressions of Each Other" is a minute long clip. 

Charles explains the difficulty of doing an impression of each other – that they have known each other for so long, and that their voices are too similar to one another's. Erik nods along with him, two fingers pressed to his temple, then tells the interviewer that her auburn hair is a mutation, and it’s a very groovy mutation.

The interviewer giggles, and Charles, in a very dry tone, tells him, “Exceptional,” which makes Erik snort, though it doesn't hide the smile on his face.

There's still a few seconds left on the interview, but Logan pauses it when he sees Hank walk into the room.

"Logan," Hank greets, tone more cautious and curious than it had been this morning.

"Hank." Logan leans back in his chair more. "Or do I still call you Beast this time around?"

Something in Hank's expression relaxes, as he makes the rest of the way over to him. "You do call me Hank. And you were right.” Logan isn’t all that surprised when Hank punches him. “We are good friends.”

Logan works his jaw, wincing as he does so. “Nice swing”

“I learned from the best,” Hank says with a smile. He settles himself down in the seat next to Logan. "Mind if I ask what you're watching?"

Logan waves at the screen. "Charles couldn't catch me all the way up on history, and so I started researching on my own. Then I got distracted by..." Logan doesn't have words for the videos, just waves his hand at the screen again.

Hank adjusts his glasses, and moves his chair for a better view. His smile widens. "I hope you don't have any plans for the rest of your afternoon."

"Charles cancelled my classes." Then, tactlessly, he asks, "So when did he and Magneto get back together?"

Hank doesn't seem ruffled in the slightest. "It depends on your definition. I'm still not sure whether they got _back together_ while you were with us, but I know they did get back together on a few occasions over the years. If you're talking in broader terms, then Erik joined the school sometime in late '86."

Explains why Charles drew out the first part of the history lesson.

"You don't seem that surprised. If you don't mind me asking," Hank starts, cautiously. When Logan just quirks an eyebrow, he asks, "What were they like back in your time?"

"Angry. Our numbers kept dropping, we kept losing friends. It was hard on them, on all of us. But Erik got rid of his helmet, and he and Charles seemed to get along better. They talked a lot – I don't know what they talked about, they kept most of their conversations private, but then one of them would laugh, and they would smile at whatever inside joke. It was a pain, sometimes, but it made things easier for us all. It was the end of the world, but they were as happy as they could get."

Hank nods, gaze distant.

"They happy now?"

He blinks a few times, then looks between Logan and the computer. "How many videos have you watched?"

"With just them? This is the second." Logan nods towards the screen. "And I see his fashion sense hasn't improved much."

Hank bursts out laughing. "Have you gotten to the one where he wears Uggs?"

Logan shakes his head. "Can't say I have." He's not sure if he's looking forward to it or not.

"I think it's called the Access interview. Watch the full interview of this, though. It’s longer, but it’s worth it. Just know that if you call Erik a gazelle after, your silverware will have a tendency to fall to the ground for a few days."

Logan stares at him. "Why would I call him a gazelle?"

Hank grins. 

* * *

Logan's silverware falls off his tray and onto the floor for over a week, but it's worth it.


End file.
